Remembering the victims as New York, nation mark 21 years since the 9/11 attacks

The annual reading of the names ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum was held on Sunday in Lower Manhattan.

CBS2’s Dick Brennan was there for the somber remembrance.

It was a day to gather and to grieve, to hold loved ones close, and remember loved ones lost. It was a day a city and a nation stopped to remember.

A simple somber ritual was held, the reading of the names.

“My brother, Firefighter Michael Francis Lynch,” one of the readers said.

They came to pay tribute to heroes who paid the ultimate price.

“FDNY Battalion Chief Orio Joseph Palmer. Orio, we love you, miss you always and continue to hold you close to our hearts,” a family member said.

“My father, Firefighter Gerard Patrick Strang, we love you we miss you and it doesn’t get any easier,” another said.

Sometimes the words were hard to find.

“Whew … and to my brother, Alan Upton, we miss you. Twenty one years and, boy, it feels real still,” a person said.

Some came with photos and left with with memories, that are literally scratched from a wall.

Time may heal some wounds, but it can’t take away the unending pain of the loss of a child.

“To my daughter, Maria Ramirez, Maria, don’t know when this weight on my chest is gonna go away,” one person said.

It was a time of mourning, but also a day to mark the legacy left by so many.

“Joe, I held your first baby grandson in my arms. You should have been holding him,” a family member said.

So many who left home that morning left little ones behind.

“To my father, Charles Gregory John, you were torn out of lives but will forever live in our hearts,” a person said.

“My father, Brian Joseph Murphy. Dad, I love you and miss you every day and am grateful for the five years we had together, and I know we would be best friends if you were still here,” a son said.

It was a day to pause, reflect, honor those lost, and hold onto their memory.

“The world may forget, but we the families of those who perished will never forget,” a person said.